A Collection of Firsts
by JennyGranger
Summary: A bunch of Mokuba's firsts, as told by Seto.
1. First Word

Yet another idea that popped into my head from a song (which will appear in one of the later chapters)! From Seto's point of view on Mokuba's first. I own nothing.

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**First Word**

I sighed when I heard the door slam as my dad left. He worked three jobs just to keep our shattered family afloat, meaning he was only home for about two hours a day. Those two hours were generally spent either sleeping or drinking. Looking down at the child in front of me, I wondered what sort of life my brother will be facing.

"I wish Mommy were still here…." I said to no one in particular. My brother looked up at me with his blue-grey eyes through his mop of ebony hair. I reached down and lifted him into my protective embrace and just held him.

It'd been almost ten months since our mother died, leaving my baby brother in the care of my father and I. Or rather, just me. Tears burned the backs of my eyes when I thought of her, and I merely hugged my brother closer.

"You look so much like her, Mokie," I said to him, "So much like Mommy."

He was babbling whatever was coming to his baby mind until his fist found his way to his mouth. I made my way to the couch and set him upright on the floor, helping him by placing his hands on the edge of the seat. He looked up at me as though inquiring why I set him down. I merely smiled and reached out to try and tame his wild locks, earning a few more words in his own baby language.

"Do you miss Mommy, too?" I asked him, tears blurring my vision.

"Mommy…."

My breath hitched in my throat as the word reached my ears. It was his first. Taking a deep breath, I picked him up and held him close again. Allowing the tears to take over, I merely buried my face in his hair and cried. I cried for her, I cried for him, and I cried for us. My six years on this earth had all led up to this moment; crying with my brother in my arms. That was when I considered him my only family, and promised to protect him at all costs.

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I almost started crying while writing this. Please review!

Next up: First Lost Tooth


	2. First Lost Tooth

This was written at around midnight, so it's not my best work, but it was pretty fun to write.

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**First Lost Tooth**

It was at the orphanage. I was eleven. Mokie was six. I was sitting at one of the tables in the play area, reading one of the mundane children's books for the thousandth time while my younger brother played with one of his favorite toy cars on the floor. When the engine noises he was making stopped, I looked down at him, wondering if something was wrong. I merely found him with his fingers in his mouth and a slightly confused look on his face.

"Mokie?" I asked, wondering what he was up to now, "What are you doing?"

"Ny toof is looth…" he said, his hand still in his mouth. I slid onto the floor in front of him, grinning.

"Let's try this again," I said, gently extracting his fingers, "What did you say?"

"My tooth is loose!" he said, pulling his fingers from my grasp to wiggle the tooth again.

"Let me see," I said, tilting his head up. He opened his mouth and let me place my thumb gently on the offending incisor. I wiggled it, and it was indeed loose. I grinned and ruffled his hair, "It is loose! In a few days, you'll lose your first tooth, Mokie."

In two days, that exactly happened, just not the way I imagined. We were outside, and I had been sitting on one of the steps on the slide, until I heard my brother's cry. On my feet, I looked around, only to find him on his face in the dirt, one of the older kids standing above him. My blood was boiling as I raced toward them, catching the bully off-guard and sending him into the ground as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him get up and walk away, muttering something I didn't really care about. My focus was on my brother.

"Mokie?" I said, gently helping him up into a sitting position. Tears rolled down his face and a slight trail of blood was running down his chin from his mouth, "It's okay, kiddo," I soothed, tilting his head up, "Let me see," It was hard to see with all the blood, but the first thing I noticed was something that wasn't there at all.

My eyes moved from his mouth to his own waterlogged stormy grey ones. He was watching me, waiting for my prognosis. I smiled gently and released my grip on his chin, only to pull him onto my lap, not caring that he was still bleeding. It was then that something caught my eye, shining white in the dirt. I reached over and picked up, grinning when I realized what it was.

"Mokuba, look what I found," I said, holding it so he could see it clearly, "It's your tooth."

He looked at it for a full ten seconds before a wide smile spread across his face. The rest of his teeth were stained red from the blood, but the gap was obvious, right in front, making it clear to the rest of the world that my baby brother had lost his first tooth.

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Review please!

Next up: First Night In Charge of Kaiba Corp


	3. First Night In Charge

Really short, but it's just Seto's thoughts after Gozaburo. I own nothing.

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Over time, I could feel myself growing cold and distant toward the world. Under Gozaburo's care, I never spent time with kids my own age. I never learned how to socialize. The rare time I had free was spent with my brother. He was the reason I kept going. He always reminded me why I challenged our step-father in the first place. He loved me, even after all I had put us through.

As I lay in bed, I kept replaying the scenes over and over in my head: The crash of breaking glass, the wail of ambulance and police sirens, the scratch of the lawyer's pen on the documents. I was now the owner of Kaiba Corporation. A fourteen year old, the CEO of the largest gaming company in Japan, all while trying to take care of my nine year old brother.

Looking down, I could just barely make out the ebony mop poking out from under the blankets, but I could feel his warm body curled up next to mine. I tried to match his even breathing, allowing it to soothe and relax me. My thoughts traced over his life and I realized with a pang that I missed a lot of it, even living in the same house as him. The last two years were a blur that I would rather not remember, but I found I couldn't even recall the precious time spent with him. Only one scene would come with detail, the rest were merely blurred fragments of images.

I tightened my grip on him, thinking about the small piece of paper I had hidden away in a book, and the drawing on it. A Blue Eyes White Dragon. The day he saved me. The day he gave me the will to keep going when I was on the verge of giving up. The only memory in this house that could still make me smile.

Thank you, little brother.

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Review please!

Up Next: 10th Birthday


	4. 10th Birthday

A longer chapter this time. Enjoy it, but remember, I own nothing.

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My thoughts were heavy as I woke up that morning. Though I had been CEO for less than a year, I allowed myself a day off. Mokuba was off school for the summer, so I allowed myself the leisure of having today off with him, even though every fiber of my overworked brain was screaming at me not to. It was, after all, my baby brother's tenth birthday.

A knock at the door knocked me out of my reverie. It opened, and a mop of ebony hair appeared, tousled from sleep. Shutting the door behind him, my brother made his way over to me and climbed into my bed.

"Good morning," I said, failing at any attempt to smooth his hair as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I thought I would come see you before you went to work," he said in a small voice that tore at my heartstrings. Ever since his summer vacation had started, I had left him home alone while I went to work at Kaiba Corp, but not today.

"I'm not going to work today," I said, allowing a smile to play with my mouth when his face lit up faster than a light bulb.

"Really?!" he asked, his blue-grey eyes shining.

"Yes, really," I said, ruffling his hair, undoing all the work I had put into fixing it, "Happy Birthday. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Waffles!" he said with no hesitation.

"All right. Let's go downstairs."

I waited until he had scrambled to the floor before I flipped the blankets to the side and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. Standing up, I followed him out of the room and downstairs, for once not caring that I was still in my pajamas.

After breakfast, I left Mokuba to put the dishes in the dishwasher while I nipped back upstairs to grab something very special. Well, two things, really. Only one of them was wrapped in gaudy, brightly colored paper though. I grabbed the other, placed it around my own neck and flipped it open. I picture of Mokuba, taken five years ago, looked back at me. One of the few to survive Gozaburo's wrath.

Forcing my thoughts away from our late stepfather, I tucked the locket under my shirt and made my way back downstairs. I found Mokuba waiting patiently at the table for my return. He looked up at me and smiled brightly. I grinned back and slid his present across the table, aware of the cool metal resting against my own chest.

"Happy Birthday," I said, watching him tear at the wrapping paper in a way only a child can. But then I realized he wasn't going to be a child for much longer. That thought had been sitting in my subconscious for the past few days, but I had suppressed them, not wanting to believe it. Only to have it slapped in my face now.

"Wow!"

His voice cut through my thoughts and I came back to reality in time to see him pull his own locket out of the box by the string so it swung in front of his face.

"Open it," I prompted, squatting down next to him and allowing my hand to wander up and finger my own card-shaped gift through my shirt.

He did as told, and his eyes widened. A picture of me, playing chess, stared back at him. He merely stared back, not knowing what to say. I pulled my locket out and held it next to his, flipping it open. Two halves of the same picture showed from the two accessories. Until he dropped his to wrap his arms around me, tears leaking from his eyes.

"Thank you, Seto," he whispered into my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and held him closer than I had done in a long time.

"You're welcome, Mokuba," I said, placing a soft kiss on his soft tresses, "but these are more than just lockets."

"What do you mean?" he said, pulling back to look at me.

"I mean they're a promise," I said, placing, my hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye, "A promise that I won't ever let anything happen to you or anyone hurt you the way… he did."

Tears were rolling down his face and he broke free of my grasp, only to hug me tightly again. I returned the gesture, holding him tightly to me. My little brother. The only reason I put myself through all I did. The only reason I'm still sane. My only family.

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Review please!

Up Next: First Date


	5. First Date

This is the chapter that inspired this entire story. The song is performed by Jay Sean. The idea came to me at the skating rink the other day, if you couldn't tell ^^

Warning: Post-canon, contains PuppyShipping.

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I wouldn't be completely inaccurate to say I was more nervous about this outing than anyone. I had several reasons. For one, I had never roller-skated before. Two, I had never been good at mingling with 'normal' people. And last, but certainly not least, Mokuba had insisted on bringing his girlfriend, Rebecca Hawkins.

It wasn't that I didn't approve of Rebecca. She was considerate and incredibly intelligent, but I couldn't imagine my baby brother being involved with anyone just yet. I had been slapped in the face by reality once more when he announced (or rather, told me with a lot of blushing and stuttering) his relationship. Yes, he was almost sixteen years old. Yes, I had always encouraged him to live the childhood I never got. But I never expected that childhood to grow into this.

"Seto?"

Joey's voice pulled me out of my reverie and I turned away from the sight of my little brother skating around with his girlfriend. I looked over at him as he sat down next to me at the table.

"You okay?" He asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I answered as Mokuba and Rebecca skated up to wall by the table, "What are you two up to?"

But Mokuba appeared not to have heard my question and went off before answering. I watched him go before turning to the blonde girl for an explanation.

"He's going to request a song and won't tell me which one it is," she said, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.

"Ah." I said, trying to appear like I was happy for them. I was, really. I just didn't want to give up my brother just yet. Maybe in another 15 years or so. I played with my empty soda cup as Mokuba skated back toward us.

"They'll play it after this," he said, before looking down at me, "Are you okay, Seto?"

"I'm fine," I said managing a small smile, fully aware that the other three were looking at me, "You go have fun."

He looked like he was about to argue, but the new song had come on, and he disappeared in crushing hug from Rebecca.

"I love this song!" she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the rink. He sent an empathetic look towards me, but he turned and skated hand-in-hand with his girlfriend. I watched him go before deciding to listen to the song, trying to figure out what was so special about it.

_So baby don't worry, you are my only,  
You won't be lonely, even if the sky is falling down,  
You'll be my only, no need to worry,  
Baby are you down down down down down,  
Down, Down,  
Baby are you down down down down down,  
Down, Down,  
Even if the sky is falling down,_

_Just let it be, come on and bring your body next to me,  
I'll take you away, hey, turn this place into our private getaway,_

_So leave it behind 'cause we, have a night to get away,  
So come on and fly with me, as we make our great escape,  
(So why don't we run away)_

_So baby don't worry, you are my only,  
You won't be lonely, even if the sky is falling down,  
You'll be my only, no need to worry,  
Baby are you down down down down down,  
Down, Down,  
Baby are you down down down down down,  
Down, Down,  
Even if the sky is falling down_

"Do you think they count this as their first date?" Joey asked, watching Mokuba turn around and skate backwards, obviously trying to show off. It worked pretty well until he lost his balance and fell, much to Rebecca's amusement.

"I think they do," I answered. The pretty blonde girl had helped him to his feet before placing a soft kiss on his lips, "I really think they do."

_So baby don't worry, you are my only,  
You won't be lonely, even if the sky is falling down,  
You'll be my only, no need to worry,  
Baby are you down down down down down,  
Down, Down,  
Baby are you down down down down down,  
Down, Down,  
Even if the sky is falling down_

"As long as you don't make your great escape too soon, baby brother. For my sake."

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Review please!

Up next: First Broken Heart


	6. First Broken Heart

Sorry for the wait. This story may be on hiatus for a while, though.

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Sitting at my desk, I was typing away on my computer, completely enthralled in my work. I wasn't working on anything special, just catching up on the finances of KaibaLand. Still, it's my nature to be able to just zone in on whatever I'm working on and tune out the rest of the world.

"No, I'm not okay!"

You could imagine my reaction when these words came to me from down the hall, followed by a very loud slam of a door. Mokuba's bedroom door. It didn't take me long to put two and two together, but, before I could even rise to my feet, my own door opened and Joey came in, looking as surprised as I felt.

"I think you need to talk to Mokuba," he said, his voice oddly hollow. I quickly weighed my options. I opted for the less dangerous approach: interrogating my pup while giving my brother precious time to cool off.

"What happened?"

"I don't know!" Joey said, gesturing helplessly, "He came home from school looking like he had been crying so I asked him if he was okay, and he just blew up at me!"

"Hmm…" I said, thinking.

We were both quiet for a moment before I finally sighed and stood. Walking past Joey into the hallway, I made my way to the other end to Mokuba's room. The soft sound of crying could be heard from the other side of the oak door. I raised my hand and, hesitating for half a second, rapped my knuckle against the wood.

"Go away."

His voice was muffled, and not just by the door. My heart broke at even the mental image of my little brother, normally so full of life and happiness, reduced to crying into his pillow.

"Mokuba?" I tried, "It's me. Can I come in?"

There was no response. Not quite sure how to take this, I allowed my hand to rest on the knob for several seconds before turning it and easing the door open. Mokuba didn't react to my intrusion. He merely stayed where he was, curled up on his bed, his face buried in his pillow. The sight was even worse than what my imagination had come up with a few seconds before.

Shutting the door behind me, I made my way over and sat down at the edge of the bed. It wasn't until I placed my hand on his back did I get any sort of response. However, it was only to curl up around his pillow tighter. I slowly moved my hand to stroke his hair, my heart rising when I sensed him relax just a tiny bit.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I tried, not exactly sure what I should expect. Comforting anybody, even my own brother, was a concept that had become almost foreign to me. I just remembered the times when we were young, when I had to wipe his tears.

He mumbled something incoherent, his face still being pressed into his pillow. I gently pulled it away from his mouth. I didn't want him suffocating himself.

"What was that?" I asked, gently running my fingers through his hair. He sniffled and hiccupped before answering a bit more clearly.

"Rebecca's going back to America," he said, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging them.

I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding as I started to understand. The two of them had been getting pretty serious lately, only to have it ripped from him suddenly.

"Come here," I said, holding my arms out, inviting him into my embrace.

As I held him, I realized with a pang that I could not remember the last time I had done this, and it killed me. I pulled him closer, trying to fit sixteen years of affection in this small moment, and trying to show him that I really do care, even though I don't always show it. I said nothing, but allowed the world to shrink so it only contained us, in this instant, and suddenly it didn't matter where our stocks were or if our budget was balanced at this second. The only thing that mattered was relieving my brother's pain and working my hardest just to see his smile again.

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